


Star-Crossed

by nagi_schwarz



Series: Comment Fic 2017 [4]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-15 08:16:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9226265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagi_schwarz/pseuds/nagi_schwarz
Summary: Written for the comment_fic prompt: "Stargate: Atlantis, John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, The nerdiest gift they've ever given to the other."Rodney gives John a birthday present. John gives Rodney an anniversary present.





	

“You refused to tell me when your birthday was, out of some misguided sense of Heathcliff brooding heroism,” Rodney said, “so I made you a birthday present and we’re celebrating your birthday whether you like it or not.” He held out the artfully-wrapped box.  
  
John stared at it. “You - what?”  
  
“You’re having a birthday party. Major Lorne arranged it. There’s cake and balloons and everything.”  
  
John narrowed his eyes. “You shanghaied my 2IC?”  
  
“He gets things done.”  
  
“That he does.” John reached up and tapped his radio. “Lorne, where are you and what are you doing?”  
  
“I’m in the mess hall waiting for you, as Dr. McKay requested.” Lorne sounded as polite and obedient as ever, not a hint of his insubordination in his tone. “ETA, sir?”  
  
“We’ll be right there.” John accepted the box from Rodney - he was pretty sure Lorne had wrapped it - and headed for the nearest transporter. “Thanks, Rodney.”  
  
“I could have hacked into your personnel file, but that seemed intrusive.” Rodney trotted after him.  
  
“Lucky for you, Lorne has probably seen my personnel file, so...today is actually my birthday. Well, it would be, on Earth.”  
  
Rodney lit up. “Really? I mean, great!”  
  
The transporter opened to the main communal level, where the mess hall and most of the communal socializing rooms were located. John headed for the mess hall, which had its doors closed. That wasn’t suspicious at all.  
  
John pushed the door open, and just about everyone on Atlantis yelled, “Surprise!”  
  
John stared. Rodney hadn’t been kidding. There was a net full of balloons strung up against the ceiling, and someone loosed it, and balloons of all colors and shapes and sizes came floating downward. Everyone was wearing actual party hats, the shiny conical kind, and there was a cake. It was tall and tiered and looked more like a wedding cake, with delicate white and blue frosting and little fondant stargates all along the bottom. The cake was topped with a fondant puddle jumper.  
  
_Happy Birthday John!_  was written along the middle tier of the cake in delicate cursive and black frosting. How the hell had Lorne found fondant and frosting in Pegasus?  
  
“Happy Birthday, sir,” Lorne said. He offered John a knife and a small plate. “Would you like to cut the first slice?”  
  
John wanted to open the box Rodney had given him, but then one of the Marines said, in a tone usually reserved for pointing out attractive women spotted after a long deployment in a remote place,  
  
“It’s chocolate cake, sir, with layers of strawberry, raspberry, coconut, and vanilla.”  
  
The other Marines were gazing at the cake dreamily, so John handed the box to Teyla, who accepted it graciously, and cut into the cake.  
  
Once all of the Marines - and a good share of scientists - were feasting on cake, John went back to the box, which Rodney had hovered over anxiously, refusing cake despite Lorne’s repeated assurances that it was citrus-free.

“Happy Birthday,” Rodney said.  
  
John untied the shiny blue ribbon and used his knife to cut away the paper. The box inside was an old shoebox, but he was pretty sure Rodney hadn’t given him shoes. He opened the lid and stared.  
  
“Is it a replica?”  
  
“No. It’s fully functional,” Rodney said. “I mean, there’s no such thing as actual kyber crystals, but given that so much alien tech runs on crystals, and the Ancients had a cutting laser lying around one of the labs, it wasn’t hard to -”  
  
John scooped it up and thumbed the button, and the lightsaber flared to life. Blue, just like Luke Skywalker’s.  
  
Every scientist in the room paused.  
  
John stepped away from the crowd so he had a clear space around him, gave the light saber a few experimental swings. It made humming noises as he sliced through the air.  
  
“Light makes no noise, obviously,” Rodney said, “so I had to fashion some bearings to act as equilibrium sensors to simulate the noise and weight of -”  
  
John shut off the lightsaber, grabbed Rodney, and hauled him into a kiss.  
  
“A very happy birthday to you indeed, sir,” Lorne said when they broke apart. “Perhaps now would be a good time to give Dr. McKay the gift you arranged? For your unwritten anniversary.”  
  
“Our anniversary?” Rodney blinked, looking puzzled.  
  
“The first time you two kissed.” Lorne vanished into the crowd and reappeared a few moments later with a larger wrapped box. He handed it to Rodney said, tone low and conspiratorial, “Best open it in private, Doc.” And then he turned away to serve up second helpings of cake to hungry Marines.  
  
No one noticed when John and Rodney slipped out of the mess hall and back to John’s quarters, Rodney carrying the box.  
  
Rodney fell to unwrapping the box as soon as the door of John’s quarters hissed shut. He opened it and pulled out the first item, then the second.  
  
“You didn’t.” He gazed up at John, eyes wide.  
  
“I did.” John pushed the yellow uniform at Rodney, held up his own blue uniform for Rodney to see.  
  
“But you - you’re the terrible space flirt,” Rodney protested.  
  
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you nibble on my ears during sex,” John said. He held up one hand in a familiar gesture and said, “Live long and prosper.”  
  
Rodney tapped his radio. “Major Lorne, John asked me to tell you that you’re in charge for the oh, next twelve to twenty-four hours.”  
  
“I thought I might be, Doc. Happy anniversary.”  
  
“Put on that uniform,” Rodney said to John, “so I can take it off of you.”


End file.
